The New England Patriots are under fire for cheating again. Eleven of the team’s 12 game balls prepared for the AFC Championship Game were not inflated, according to league standards.
Now, as a result, any casual sports-watcher cannot turn on ESPN without being immersed in deflate-gate. This scandal is the most exaggerated sporting news story in recent history.
We all remember Spygate, the 2007 controversy that revealed the Patriots were videotaping the New York Jets’ defensive coaches’ signals. Spygate was a very, very big deal, and the NFL reacted accordingly.
New England head coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 for the incident, the maximum fine allowed by the league, and the largest ever imposed on a coach in league history. Additionally, the Patriots organization was fined $250,000, and the team forfeited its first-round draft pick.
Now, after deflate-gate, many football fans are calling for the suspension of Belichick. Some extremists are even calling for him to be removed from the Patriots. Simply put, that’s not going to happen.
Belichick is undeniably one of the best coaches in the game and perhaps one of the greatest of all time. His tactics are both unorthodox and genius. He options his offensive linemen as eligible receivers. He even trusts his receiving corps to throw 51-yard touchdown passes in the postseason.
More comically, some are calling for the Patriots to be banned from Super Bowl XLIX. Politely put, that’s not going to happen, either.
The Patriots will be fined mightily, and they will lose their first-round draft pick, possibly their second also. But they will play in the Super Bowl, and here’s why.
The underinflated balls had no effect on the outcome of the game. The Patriots embarrassed the Indianapolis Colts 45-7. Patriot running back LeGarrette Blount scored three touchdowns, tripling the Colts total team scoring. The footballs could have been inflated to 15 pounds per square inch or 5 psi. The teams could have played with tennis balls or bowling balls. It didn’t matter in any way whatsoever.
If the game had been won on a last-minute field goal, I could see Deflategate removing the Patriots from the Super Bowl. If the game had been up-for-grabs late in the fourth quarter, and an officiating decision — similar to those that decided the Detroit Lions-Dallas Cowboys game or the Cowboys-Green Bay Packers game — decided the outcome of the game, I could see deflate-gate removing the Patriots from the Super Bowl. However, there is no disputing that New England dominated Indianapolis in every aspect of the game.
I acknowledge that the Patriots may have broken the rules in the game. When only one of your 12 prepared game balls meets NFL protocol, something appears very wrong. But there is still no real proof that the Patriots are guilty. Without a video of a ball boy tampering with the footballs, or a statement from the team’s equipment manager stating explicitly that there was any wrongdoing, there is no confirmation.
Does it look good for the Patriots? No, not at all. Matters worsened after Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s pitiful press conference last week. Brady stated very clearly that he did not notice a difference in the feel of the football, and I, at first, believed that he lied through his teeth. However, Belichick explained some facts in his own recent press conference about psi, pressure gauges and reactions to weather conditions that potentially validate his quarterback’s claim.
Brady saying that he could not feel the difference of the balls used in the AFC Championship Game is not as preposterous as I had first thought. Although Brady personally stated that he prefers footballs inflated to 12.5 psi — meaning that he can clearly tell the difference between balls at 12.5 psi and a ball at any other psi — in those specific weather conditions, his uncertainty is completely plausible. And before we condemn the future Hall-of-Famer, it is worth reiterating that there is no concrete proof he broke any rules.
Brady is already arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, as he will start his sixth career Super Bowl in Super Bowl XLIX (an NFL record). If he wins the championship this year, he tremendously strengthens his case, as he would join Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks in history with four Super Bowl titles.
Many are questioning whether or not Brady’s legacy has been tarnished because the team he has spent his whole career with is now infamous for its cheating and debauchery. To be honest, I lost a bit of respect for Brady after his pathetic press conference. I believe, though, that his legacy as one of the best quarterbacks of all time cannot be tarnished by one press conference.
Furthermore, his reputation will not at all be affected by the fact that he played for the New England Patriots. Whether people like it or not, the Patriots are one of the most successful sports franchises in history, in no small part due to the legendary duo of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
